Highlights

• Don't get stuck on tough Elden Ring bosses - seek out easier ones like those in Evergaols for rewarding challenges.
• Evergaol bosses like Darriwil and Adan are perfect for early-game Tarnished, providing valuable loot and experience.
• Location and weaknesses play a key role in defeating Evergaol bosses - strategize accordingly to emerge victorious.

Stuck on Margit or some other Elden Ring boss whose name starts with George R.R. Martin's name initials? The good news is that Elden Ring always offers alternatives or detours. Just leave those demigods to wallow in their superiority complex and come back stronger after seeking out some of the lesser bosses. The game has plenty of these and the most accessible of them are in Evergaols.

These are essentially prisons in the Elden Ring overworld that house some challenging yet manageable bosses. Evergaols are also scattered throughout the open-world map and are conspicuous enough. With that said, some players might want to be a bit cautious with the boss prisons they bust open since even some Evergaol bosses are pretty tough. So here's a difficulty hierarchy so the Tarnished know which to prioritize or avoid.

Updated April 2nd, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: With the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring looming on the horizon, players are coming back to this stellar open-world experience to get re-acquainted with the game before said DLC drops. And, with how gigantic this game is it makes sense to come back to it early as it'll take quite a bit of time to see everything again if so desired. For example, quite a large percentage of Elden Ring players haven't even fought all the Evergaol bosses in the game. So, let's take a look at every single boss that can be found in the Evergaols spread throughout the Lands Between and rank them according to how difficult they are to fight.

10 Bloodhound Knight Darriwil

Forlorn Hound Evergaol

• Weakness: Stagger & Poise-Breaking Weapons as Well as General Ranged Attacks

Bloodhound Knight Darriwil is the first of many pushover Evergaol bosses on here, but it makes sense since he's meant to be fought pretty early in the game. He and his prison AKA his gaol are associated with Blaidd's questline as Darriwil is being 'hunted down' by Blaidd and is supposedly in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol to hide from this wolf-man.

If players proceed to this Evergaol through Blaidd's quest, they can even summon him for assistance in the fight. But, while helpful, it's not all that necessary as Darriwil doesn't have too much HP, and his attacks are easily dodged. Thankfully, for a rather easy fight, Darriwil drops something amazing as he rewards the Tarnished with his Bloodhound's Fang Curved Greatsword.

Location

The Forlorn Hound Evergaol is located just south of, well, Agheel Lake South on top of a small hill.

9 Adan, Thief Of Fire

Malefactor’s Evergaol

• Weakness: Stagger-Based Attacks, Backstabs, & Taking Advantage of the Opportunity When He Heals

Adan, Thief of Fire is one of the earliest Evergaol bosses players will face and for one of the most uniquely designed Evergaol encounters he's sadly not too challenging. He's slow and his weapon has a short range. As one would expect from the 'thief of fire', Adan uses fire Incantations, in particular Flame of the Fell God and Catch Flame, but even those are slow enough to easily avoid.

With how relaxed he is in the fight, players can also sneak in a good number of backstabs. This makes Adan one of the least imposing Evergaol bosses in the game. To offset this a bit, he has a healing Flask, but he's even more vulnerable when chugging that.

Location

Malefactor's Evergaol is just on the cliff overlooking Liurnia Lake Shore. Players can get there through a jump pad.

8 Bols, Carian Knight

Cukoo's Evergaol

• Weakness: Very Predictable & Very Slow

Bols, Carian Knight can be more accurately described as a basic Troll enemy counter with some extra magic spells thrown in on top. Anyone who's had their fair share of run-ins with Trolls in the overworld shouldn't have any problem with Bols. For melee characters especially, it's a cakewalk since all they have to do is dance around Bols' feet, hacking away at his HP.

Location

The Cuckoo's Evergaol is located on the western bank of the 'lake' in Liurnia of the Lakes.

7 The Ancient Hero Of Zamor

Weeping Evergaol

• Weakness: Magic Attacks, in Particular Fire, Lightning, & Ice Elemental Damage

It's rare for Evergaol bosses to have truly unique mechanics that players need to suddenly learn, as many of them are just cloned boss fights from other areas or basic NPC invaders. So, the Ancient Hero of Zamor is a bit special since it introduces the Frost ailment before most Elden Ring players would stumble across it naturally. Additionally, this boss is wiley and can be a real pain to actually pin down and get a hit in.

The real danger lies in the boss's ice breath ability, which has a surprisingly long range and can inflict Frostbite incredibly fast. Come 'phase two', The Ancient Hero gets even more aggressive, so this is the time to be especially cautious.

Location

The Weeping Evergaol is found northeast of the Fourth Church of Marika in the western portion of the Weeping Peninsula.

6 Alabaster Lord

Royal Grave Evergaol

• Weakness: Slow & Is Very Susceptible to Being Staggered

Like other large bosses of Evergaols, the Alabaster Lord is slow. In fact, it's accurate to say he mostly just wanders the arena menacingly, patiently waiting for players to get too close. His HP is also not that chunky and his large hitboxes mean it's easy to sneak hits in.

The biggest thing to be careful of, however, is his Gravity Magic. His only other ace-in-the-hole is a sword plunge that deals area damage around him. After this, he'll open up a portal and launch some gravity balls at the player, but dodging these is pretty simple.

Location

The Royal Grave Evergaol is to the east of Caria Manor. Players will have to go through the spectral Royal Knight Loretta, the boss of Caria Manor first to access the area surrounding the fortified mansion, so keep that in mind.

5 Battlemage Hugues

Sellia Evergaol

• Weakness: Fighting Him at Close Range & Interupting His Casting

Battlemage Hugues is also another straightforward battle that doesn't require too much prep work or studying in advance. This caster has a large club that can easily stagger the players but the good part about fighting him in melee range is that this means he won't cast his ranged spells much at all, and those can be troublesome.

However, players will still have to watch out for his melee sorcery, the Gavel of Haima, as it easily does enough damage to instantly end the fight. Luckily, Hugues is easy to Stagger and this will typically interrupt his casting as a result.

Location

Getting to Sellia Evergaol is a little complicated. First, players will have to access the Dragonbarrow area in Caelid. From the Dragonbarrow West Site of Grace, they'll need to head east and then down south once they've reached the pillar that originally had the area's map sitting underneath it.

4 Godefroy The Grafted

Golden Lineage Evergaol

• Weakness: Has All the Same Weaknesses as Godrick the Grafted

Godefroy the Grafted, as his name implies, is related to Godrick the Grafted, who's one of the Shardbearers and the main boss of Stormveil Castle. Related is a generous word, as this boss is nothing more than a cheap clone of the Godrick boss fight except without the phase two triggering at 50 percent HP.

So anyone who already had a lot of practice whittling down Godrick's first phase shouldn't have an issue with this fight at all. Still, it can be tricky for some players since Godefroy still hits hard when his attacks do connect.

Location

The Golden Lineage Evergaol is just past the bridge-tunnel east of the Erdtree-Gazing Hill.

3 Roundtable Knight Vyke

Lord Contender's Evergaol

• Weakness: Fights Like an NPC Invader, Very Susceptible to Staggering

Some Evergaol bosses are pretty much pushovers and are really no different from NPC invaders. Festering Fingerprint Vyke is one of those, which is a shame given his in-game lore connections to the Frenzied Flame. Despite the troublesome name, he doesn't exactly inspire fear with his appearance since he's a regular-sized enemy.

He really is just an invader-tier fight (and even appears as an actual invader in some places), meaning players can crush his Stagger bar quite easily. The reward is extra nice though, as Vyke rewards players appropriately with an armor set and a nice Incantation.

Location

The Lord Contender’s Evergaol is just northeast of the Whiteridge Road Site of Grace. It's on a cliff facing directly to the south.

2 Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader

Ringleader's Evergaol

• Weakness: Sentry's Torch, Stagger Damage, & General Physical Damage

Alecto, Black Knight Ringleader is where the Evergaol bosses start becoming trickier. She's a Black Knight Assassin and those are already a pain to fight, especially for players who don't have the Sentry's Torch that reveals invisible enemies.

Thankfully, Alecto doesn't really utilize stealth the same way her colleagues do, but she does love that unique command grab-like assassinate attack. Her HP pool is a bit large compared to the other Black Knight Assassins but Alecto is easily Staggered, players just need to watch out for when she does hit, because her damage is pretty high.

Location

To get to Ringleader's Evergaol, players need to have unlocked the Moonlight Altar as part of Ranni the Witches' Questline. The Evergaol is on the northwesternmost tip of the plateau that houses the Moonlight Altar area. Just follow the road that heads northwest from the Moonlight Altar Site of Grace.

1 Crucible Knight

Stormhill Evergaol

• Weakness: Fire & Lightning Damage

Speaking of aggression, none of the other Evergaol bosses can match the Crucible Knight when it comes to being overly aggressive. Don't be fooled by the early(ish) game Stormhill location, this boss should not have been placed in a starting area as the first Evergaol. Crucible Knights are just a real pain to deal with no matter when they show up.

This particular one in the Stormhill Evergaol is hyper-aggressive, has seemingly infinite poise, and will not let anyone within a few feet of him drink from a flask. His HP is also crushingly high and his damage goes through the roof. Phase two? Forget about conserving HP, his Aspect of the Crucible: Tail Incantation ensures that all player attacks become lopsided HP trades that are rarely in the player's favor.

Location

The Stormhill Evergaol can be found just southeast of Stormhill Shack (the place where the NPC Roderika was resting). It's near a cliff edge facing directly southeast.